Niagara hockey comes up short against Nittany Lions

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICSUNIVERSITY PARK, P.A. -- Niagara dropped its second game of the weekend to No. 10 Penn State on Saturday afternoon. Niagara struck in the second to tie before ultimately yielding, 4-1.

Game Recap

­Trailing 1-0 in the first, Niagara's first true chance came when Johnny Curran found himself in space to the left of the Nittany Lions' net. Penn State had just returned to full strength following a penalty and Curran's one-timer gave the Purple Eagles their best opportunity to score to that point.

With three minutes elapsed in the second period, Niagara drew a penalty to earn two minutes on the power play. Niagara had three shots on goal with the man up, the best of them coming as the penalty expired, but Dylan Mills' slap shot was sucked up by the Penn State goalie for a faceoff.

Niagara tied the game midway through the second period, when Eric Cooley picked off the puck just outside Penn State's defensive zone. Cooley maneuvered through a pair of Lions defenders and managed to get a shot off. Following up and crashing the net, Justin Kendall batted the rebound behind the goalie and in for the equalizer.

Beyond The Boxscore

Cole Weaver started between the pipes for his first career game. He was the last of Niagara's 11 freshmen to debut for the Purple Eagles this season.

Cooley has now recorded an assist in each of Niagara's first four games this season.

Up Next

Niagara will resume its early-season road stretch with a doubleheader at Air Force on Oct. 25 and 26. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7 PM MT, 9 PM ET.